Entertainment Industry News

Fox, of course, was hoping for a seven game baseball series. But the sixth, and final, World Series match-up between the Yankees and the Phillies rose to a series-high 22.66 million viewers and a 7.3 rating/20 share among adults 18-49, leading Fox to an easy Wednesday victory. Here were the network averages for Nov. 4:

While speculation looms on the future of Oprah, spin-off Dr. Phil has been cleared by CBS Television Distribution through the 2013-14 season in approximately 70 percent of the country despite significant audience erosion this season. Season to-date, Dr. Phil is down by 15 percent in household rating (3.3 to 2.8) as 25 percent among key women 25-54 (2.0 to 1.5).

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Joe Jackson, the elderly father of late pop star Michael Jackson, on Friday filed a court petition seeking an allowance from the singer's estate, saying his son had supported him for many years.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Target is offering its top 10 pre-order DVD movie titles at $10 and free home delivery on the discounted DVDs in a bid to match Wal-Mart Stores price cuts ahead of the all-important holiday season.

LONDON (Reuters) - London-based record label EMI has won an injunction against music website BlueBeat.com which it said was selling Beatles songs without its permission.

-Yesterday's Winners: Baseball World Series, Game 6 (Fox), Criminal Minds (CBS), CSI: NY (CBS)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc reported a quarterly profit that matched analysts' estimates and revenue that was higher than expected, led by sales of the company's latest "Guitar Hero" offering.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oprah Winfrey has not yet made a decision on a possible move of her syndicated chat show -- one of the TV industry's biggest money makers -- to her new cable network OWN, her production company said on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Scripps Networks Interactive Inc plans to buy a controlling stake in the Travel Channel under a deal with Cox Communications Inc that values the cable network at nearly $1 billion.

NEW YORK - PlayStation 3 owners will soon be able to stream movies and TV shows from Netflix to their TVs using the gaming console, just as Xbox 360 owners have been able to do for a year.

LOS ANGELES - With local, organic food, minimal electricity use and on-site composting, the Environmental Media Association's 20th anniversary party might be the green standard for future Hollywood awards shows.

LOS ANGELES - Fans scrambled to see 3-D movies such as "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" in theaters this year and new 3-D televisions could soon have home viewers feeling as if they're surrounded by a spaghetti hurricane on their couches.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co's sports complex in central Florida will be renamed in February after its ESPN unit, in a move to strengthen the well-known sports brand's ties with young athletes.

NEW YORK - A trade organization wants the government to look into the price war among online booksellers.

-Yesterday's Winners: NCIS (CBS), V (ABC), The Biggest Loser (NBC), Dancing With the Stars (ABC), NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS), The Good Wife (CBS)

NEW YORK - The artist who designed the famous Barack Obama "HOPE" poster has admitted he didn't use the Associated Press photo he originally said his work was based on but instead used a picture the news organization has claimed was his source.

Led by games one through four of The Baseball World Series (New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies), it was a clean sweep for Fox, with a first-place finish in households, total viewers and the three key demos -- adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. Compared to the year-ago week (when there was only the fifth -- and final -- game of Tampa Bay at Philadelphia in The World Series), Fox increased by as much as 54 percent in total viewers. Needless to say, the network is certainly hoping for a seven game series. ...

-Yesterday's Winners: Baseball World Series, Game 1 (Fox)

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Competition Commission extended on Thursday its inquiry into the proposed merger between Live Nation Inc and Ticketmaster Inc, the two most powerful companies in the live music business.

-Yesterday's Winners: Dancing With the Stars (ABC), Two and a Half Men R (CBS), The Big Bang Theory R (CBS): CSI: Miami R (CBS)

-Friday's Winners (keep in mind that the expectations are lower on this evening): Ghost Whisperer (CBS), Medium (CBS), Dateline (NBC)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - News Corp and Time Warner Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit as movie studios and cable network gains helped offset declines at their newspaper and magazine units.

-Yesterday's Winners: Criminal Minds (CBS), CSI: NY (CBS)

COLOGNE, Germany (Hollywood Reporter) - Things are looking up for "30 Rock" in Germany, days after the series premiere of the Emmy-wining sitcom garnered a zero rating.

-Yesterday's Winners: NCIS (CBS), American League Championship Series, Game 4 (Fox), NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS), Dancing With the Stars (ABC), The Good Wife (CBS)

SHANGHAI/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co's breakthrough deal to build one of its signature theme parks in Shanghai marks a major advance for Western media and entertainment firms trying to crack a tough China market.

CBS dominated this fourth week of the 2009-10 season, with a first-place finish in households, total viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. Comparably, the Eye net has extended its winning streak to four consecutive weeks in both total viewers and adults 25-54. Fox, which housed the first two games of the American League Championship Series (New York Yankees versus Los Angeles Angels), won the week of Oct. 12 among adults 18-34. Year-to-year, Fox built by margins of 14 to 24 percent in the five surveyed categories, while CBS was consistent. ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Scripps Networks is close to an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the Travel Channel from Cox Communications, the nation's third-largest cable company, the New York Times' DealBook blog reported on Wednesday.

-Ratings Breakdown: ABC tangoed its way to another Monday overnight victory, beating No. 2 Fox by 1.7 rating points. But Fox's combination of the tail-end of game three of The American League Championship Series (New York Yankees at Los Angeles Angels), House and Lie To Me should be more than enough to challenge CBS for dominance among adults 18-49. Third overall in the metered markets was CBS (which should have no trouble overtaking ABC in the demo), followed by depressed NBC and The CW.